Chapter twenty five,

"Hey you never know, if you hang around you may get a chance to shoot Larry."

After Sam threw in that last incentive, Fiona grudgingly agreed not to leave the city. With one final look back at Michael's room, she pushed her way passed Sam and without another word she made her way out of the hospital. She hurried over to the nearby taxi stand and jumped into the first one in the queue.

" Take me to the River park hotel." She ordered. As the taxi moved off into traffic, she glanced out of the rear window. To see a beige sedan following, sighing she sat back in her seat. For now she woud let them follow her, the day she couldn't slip an FBI tail would be the day she deserved to be caught.

Finally reaching her hotel, she slid out of the taxi and walked inside. Striding passed the reception, and up the stairs leading to her room. This was the place she had called home since Jesse had blown up her new house.

A quick look up and down the corridor reassured her that the surveillance team was probably at the reception, interrogating the staff. Unlocking the door, she slipped inside and locked the door behind her. The room was spotless, nothing was out of place. A check of all the usual places a bug might have been hidden produced nothing, she relaxed, up until now they hadn't known about this place.

Kicking off her shoes, she went over to the french doors and opened them, letting in fresh air and light. Stepping outside, she leant over the balcony wall. Staring down onto the hotel's swimming pool, she wasn't looking at the guests swimming, or playing in the water, nor was she listening to the sounds of laughter and the playful shouts coming from the people below. Instead she saw Michael looking up at her from the hospital bed, speaking the words that hurt her so much.

"I understand why you gave your phone to the FBI, I don't blame you for what you did."

He thought she had betrayed him, he thought she had handed her phone over to the FBI out of spite because of his earlier words of dismissal. After all this time how could he possibly think she would do that to him. Those words had ripped through her heart, if he hadn't been so helpless she would have torn into him until he felt all the pain those words had caused.

All those years ago in Ireland she had kept his secret, when she discovered he was an American spy. Her head had told her to turn him over to the men who would have tortured him for information, before they executed him and left his body in some public place, to act as a warning to other spies and traitors. Instead she had followed her heart, choosing him over her own family.

Then when he had abandoned her in the middle of the night without a word. Not even at the height of her grief had she betrayed him to her brothers. One word from her and an IRA hit squad would have been out searching for him.

His words had cut her to the bone, to betray a friend, a lover was the worst thing he could have possibly have accused her of doing. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly trying to release the tension building in her body.

"What the hell am I meant to do?" She spoke the words out loud.

She lifted her hair away from her neck, twisting her long locks into a bun on top of her head then pining it in place with hairclips taken from a leather band around her wrist.

Why had he lost faith in her? She walked back inside, she wasn't going to get an answer out of him any time soon. She knew he looked at betrayal as an occupational hazard, but that wasn't her way. After he left her in Ireland she had fled the country herself, unable to face her family after what she had done.

She went over to her wardrobe and reached up to the top shelf, pulling aside the shoe boxes until she could reach the very back. Carefully she pulled out her sniper rifle, and a box of cartridges.

She carried the items over to her bed and settled down. Michael was going to have a lot of apologizing to do once he was better. Until then she had her search for Larry to keep her busy.

…...

Four agents dead, three died at the scene breaching the house belonging to Larry Sizemore, another died in hospital a day later. Callaghan stared into the room holding Michael Westen, it was his calls to Fiona Glenanne that led them to the house. Even if he didn't actually set up the explosives he was certainly an accomplice.

Turning away from the window, Callaghan went back to the side room he had made his office, he needed to compose himself before he started the interrogation. He was under pressure from his boss to get Westen to co-operate, going in there while he was angry and frustrated would not work. Even in his weakened state Westen was going to be a hard man to interrogate. Sam Axe had said his friend would hand over the information without a fuss, but the man had been conscious for the best part of a day and hadn't offered up anything so far.

Sitting down Callaghan pushed his copy of the Michael Westen dossier to one side, looking at that particular folder wasn't going to help him calm down. He lent back in his chair and shut is eyes forcing himself to relax.

"Sir!" Callaghan opened his eyes and sat up straight. Special Agent Roberts stood in the doorway.

"What is it, Roberts?"

"Westen just told his girlfriend to leave Miami. Axe spoke to her on the way out. She is staying for now but she must be considered a flight risk. What do you want to do about her?"

"Set up surveillance on her. My guess is she'll be out looking for Sizemore. Call me if she finds him."

Agent Roberts closed the door and headed off quickly to set the surveillance team for Fiona Glenanne and to make sure they knew Callaghan wanted her left alone unless she attempted to leave the city or if she found Larry Sizemore.

Callaghan got to his feet, pushing his emotions to the back of his mind. Now was the ideal time to question Westen. He would be tired from talking to his visitors and hopefully a little off balance from telling his girlfriend to leave him.

…...

As the door swung shut behind Fiona, Michael turned to lay on his back, he stared up at the ceiling. Behind him he could hear the guard who was stationed at the back of his room, talking quietly into his comm, reporting on what he had said to Fiona.

He had never felt so helpless, he jerked on the handcuffs with frustration. There was no need to restrain him, he was far to weak to try and escape, they had been put in place to remind him of his status. A prisoner, and a possible traitor.

The door opened and he glanced across, recognizing Special Agent Callaghan the man who had read him his rights and then promptly told him that because of who he was and the information he held none of those rights applied to him. The handcuffs had then been slapped in place and he had been left alone to consider his fate.

Callaghan pulled a chair over to his side. "So how are you feeling now?" Callaghan sat down, leaning back and crossing one leg over the other.

"Fine, just peachy." Michael turned towards him smiling behind the oxygen mask.

"Glad to hear it. Your friend Axe was telling me you were trying to hand over the NOC list when Agent Marvin Peterson was murdered is that correct?"

"I'm sure Jesse Porter confirmed that for you, Agent Callaghan." Michael continued to smile, trying to hide his tiredness.

Callaghan returned the smile. "You're right Agent Porter did confirm all that happened that day, and your debrief under polygraph was found at Brennan's home which confirms your innocence. That is right up to your Killing spree with Larry Sizemore. Seven confirmed deaths between you, and two more that are most likely the work of at least one of you."

Michael paled at hearing the number of people they had gone through, nine people in what? Four or five days. He couldn't even remember how long they had been on the run. Callaghan noticed the self assured smile had slipped.

"For the time being, I want to concentrate on where that NOC list might be, and who do you think was trying to kill you and Sizemore."

Michael ran his tongue over his lips, as he considered his answer. "Larry has a lot of enemies, from both before and after his death. It could be anyone of them. Plus my name has been out there, so anyone who wanted me dead could have planted that bomb as well. It'll be a long list if you want all the names."

There was no need to mention they had been on their way to a meeting with who ever it was paying Larry to get hold of the list. It was quite possible that with his cover blown, and all the FBI attention, Larry was no longer considered worth keeping as an asset.

"And the list, where do you think that is?" Callaghan asked, Axe was wrong, Westen was not going to help them willingly. He thought.

"Have you asked Larry? He was the one holding it." Michael was fishing for information.

"Larry, according to witnesses saw you lying on the ground and walked off, leaving you to nearly bleed to death. In my book someone who does that, doesn't deserve any loyalty."

So Larry was still out there. Michael closed his eyes trying to buy some time while he thought through what he was going to say. Larry would not have taken the drive with him to the meeting, he would have hidden it somewhere. The Feds would have been all over the hotel room and it was obvious they hadn't found it. Larry couldn't go back in, while the area was full of Feds, so the drive was still wherever he had hidden it.

"You haven't answered my question." Callaghan reminded him.

"I don't know." He admited. "But when I'm a bit stronger I could possibly find it."

"Why not tell me where to..." He was interrupted.

"Sir, there is a call from Washington for you."

Callaghan stood up, pushing his chair back. "This conversation isn't over Westen. When I get back I want some straight answers."

...

In Washington, Jesse Porter had a whole series of photos and documents spread out over his desk. His mind was working so fast he couldn't believe what he was seeing. In the last week there had been a series of assassinations. The first incident was in The Dominican Republic, a hotel was blown up. Fourteen people killed and six more seriously injured. When Jesse had looked closer, he realized it was the hotel adjoining the bar where he had met the man auctioning the thumb drive.

Next was the CEO of a electronics company in Cleveland Ohio, who was shot in the head while walking down a crowded street. The police report said the sniper had to be at least a quarter of a mile away. The man was due to be called in to the local FBI field office for questioning about some of his government contracts.

The third incident, was the car bomb that nearly killed Michael, followed two days later by the death of a two star general who had been called to DC for questioning. The general's driver had failed to notice a device under the back seat of his limousine. In both incidents the same type of trigger switches had been used. It was becoming clear that there was a third party going after anyone connected to the NOC list. That was four incidents in just over a week.

Jesse reached for his phone he needed to pass this information up the chain, whoever was commiting these crimes had to be stopped as soon as possible.